Fasting is a practice that is commonly observed in many religions. It is believed to have various physical, mental, and spiritual benefits. Fasting during Ramadan is a popular tradition among Muslims that is carried out every year. Ramadan fasting has been shown to reduce the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases and metabolic disorders such as obesity, hypertension, and diabetes mellitus.

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Around 2 billion Muslims worldwide observe Ramadan annually as one of their most sacred practices. It falls in the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar. Throughout this period, Muslims are expected to abstain from eating or drinking anything for an uninterrupted 29-30 days, commencing from dawn up until sunset. The duration of fasting may differ across countries but typically lasts between 12 to 22 hours daily. While ‘iftar’ should be eaten after sunset at Maghrib prayer, ‘suhoor’ should be taken before daybreak.

Fasting in Ramadan will have you eating and drinking nothing from sunrise to sunset.

Several studies indicate that body composition and weight can change by fasting in Ramadan through a reduction in obesity markers, including cholesterol level, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) levels, fat mass, body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, and inflammation. Lifestyle changes during Ramadan may protect against different metabolic ailments, which include hypertension, cardiovascular disease (CVD), and type II diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Ramadan fast causes significant physiological and metabolic effects; hence, weight loss mechanisms occurring within the short thirty-day time frame of Ramadan should be understood.

The effect of fasting during Ramadan versus non-Ramadan fasting on body weight

Ramadan fasts involve dry periods with no food or water intake throughout daylight hours. Eating occurs only briefly at nightfall before it starts again later in the evening. Caloric restriction during Ramadan is usually unintentional, with activities shifting to nighttime. Dietary habits become high in carbohydrates and fats, with two main meals and one snack if needed.

Intermittent fasting (IF) is not the same as what you go through during Ramadan. It’s a longer-term commitment designed to keep your eating hours in check and limit your calorie consumption. Whether it’s done every day or one time only, it’s a powerful lifestyle addition; you’ll never eat the same way again. The fasting period allows water, tea, and black coffee, so it’s referred to as non-water deprivation.

Intermittent fasting allows you to eat a certain number of calories in a limited amount of time, but you can drink zero-calorie beverages outside that window.

Compared to intermittent fasting, which lasts 8-16 hours, the Ramadan fast lasts longer, up to 12-22 hours. Intermittent Fasting aims to improve body composition and enhance weight loss as well as fat mass loss. In just eight weeks, Intermittent fasting can reduce body fat mass by around 1.5 kg.

A comprehensive analysis has found that fasting during Ramadan leads to greater weight reduction compared to intermittent fasting. Weight loss during Ramadan is associated with longer restriction of fluid intake that results in substantial water losses, thereby favoring body weight reduction. Nevertheless, fat loss is more pronounced during intermittent fasting than during Ramadan due to intentional caloric restriction, which, together with exercise, leads to high BMI decline, thus inducing fat mass diminution.

Weight loss is more prevalent in fasting during Ramadan, but intermittent fasting prioritizes fat loss.

The effect of Ramadan fasting on routine diet and daily activities

Your diet, work schedule, sleeping habits, and even physical activity change considerably during Ramadan. Normally, one would take three main meals with one to two snacks in between. However, during Ramadan, the number of meals is often reduced to two: a large meal just after sunset, known as ‘breakfast,’ and a light meal before daybreak called ‘dinner.’

Dietary intake changes to high carbohydrate consumption, replacing low energy utilized in the daylight hours. For instance, you usually indulge yourself with things like dates, juices, or fruit at night. Also, more water has to be taken to combat dehydration-related thirst.

You may be unable to exercise during the day due to low energy intake (no food), but you can resume working out at night when you are full of energy. Additionally, Muslims perform numerous prayers that contain a long-standing prayer called Taraweeh—your new workout! Similarly, all other social activities resume at night, including visiting shopping malls.

Life activities shifted to nighttime. Sleep and work hours are cut down, diet is reduced to two meals, and physical activity declines in Ramadan.

Mechanisms of weight loss during Ramadan

You may wonder how you can lose weight while fasting during Ramadan, where you consume too many carbs and sugary foods while not exercising as much as usual or engaging in less overall physical activity, but you still lose weight naturally. The physiological and metabolic changes that occur during Ramadan fasts could lead a person to lose extra weight rapidly.

1. Caloric Restriction

Caloric restriction is a well-known dietary method that leads to weight loss. On average, a person who fasts consumes around 1220 Kcal/day, which is significantly lower than the standard adult requirement of around 1800-2000 Kcal/day. There is a considerable reduction in calories since those coming from carbohydrates and fats are eliminated during daylight.

At the end of Ramadan, you may expect to lose about 2 kg unless you are overweight. Then, it’s quite possible that you will lose even more weight, an average of 4 kg compared to those who are normal weight.

Pushing through those long fasting hours usually means taking in less food than usual—especially Ramadan meals loaded with carbohydrates and fats that fill you up quickly.

However, one study found out that people on regular days still consume more macronutrients (carbs, protein, fat) than recommended, whereas they consume fewer micronutrients (sodium, calcium, fiber). Despite the high intake of carbs and fats during Ramadan compared to usual days, there is a drastic decrease in macronutrients and a high increase in micronutrients. They also added that diet changes during Ramadan resulted in reduced body weight, BMI, waist circumference, and fat mass.

2. Hormonal Changes

The body’s response to the daily light-to-dark cycle, known as circadian rhythm, affects hormones. The eating pattern during Ramadan shifts at night, which affects the circadian rhythms of hormones regulating feeding, ghrelin, and leptin, since growth hormone receptors in the brain produce both.

Leptin, or ‘hunger suppressor,’ is a hormone that regulates appetite by inhibiting hunger and decreasing food intake. Leptin levels usually peak between late night and before sunrise (between 22:00 and 3:00), so you don’t feel hungry, while its levels decline early morning to late afternoon hours (between 8:00 and 17:00), where you feel most hungry.

Ghrelin, the ‘appetite stimulator,’ increases before meals, during fasting, or after significant weight loss. This hormone stimulates the desire to eat larger quantities of food.

A study was undertaken on people with obesity/overweight who fast during Ramadan. At the end of the month, the subjects’ leptin levels had increased while ghrelin levels decreased. Consuming high-carbohydrate and high-fat meals can lead to feeling full, hence reducing appetite, which might also explain why there was a decrease in ghrelin levels. The improvement in leptin and ghrelin has been associated with considerable weight reduction, low BMI, body fat, and hip circumference.

By the time iftar around again at sunset, levels of leptin and ghrelin—the hormones that regulate appetite—are under control. You’re less hungry throughout the day.

3. Insulin Sensitivity

Insulin is a hormone that helps regulate your blood sugar levels and aids in carbohydrate metabolism. When you eat carbs, glucose levels rise in the blood. To absorb this excess glucose, insulin is released into the bloodstream. The extra glucose is stored as glycogen in the liver and muscles. However, during fasting periods, insulin production decreases, which leads to lower blood glucose levels – glycogen stores will be used up, and body fat will be burned for energy instead.

If you’ve got excess fat around your middle, your risk of developing insulin resistance may be higher. Insulin resistance occurs when your body can’t use insulin properly, which causes issues with how much insulin you produce and the amount of glucose in your blood.

In a study done on healthy men who fasted as part of Ramadan, participants saw improvements across all these factors: insulin sensitivity, BMI, fat mass, and waist circumference- keys for successful weight loss.

When insulin works better for your body, it’s easier for cells to use glucose as fuel instead of storing it as fat.

4. Autophagy

Autophagy is the process of disposing of damaged cells so that newer ones can take their place. Autophagy is triggered by hypertonic stress. In Ramadan fasting, hypertonic stress results from dehydration, when electrolyte levels such as potassium and sodium increase, and water is lost. This biological process stimulates autophagy and eventually results in weight loss, a reduction in waist circumference, and fat mass.

Fasting during Ramadan puts the body under hypertonic stress, which induces auto-Nagy, which helps promote weight loss.